Page 103 of Try Me

The contestants eyed each other, checking to see if anyone would chicken out. Declan turned away from them to look at the waves. They were much bigger than the day Eddie had died. They were the size of football fields, fierce and terrifying. Beautiful and perfect.

Declan lusted for those waves, but not here. Not at Sunset. He wished they were at Pipeline, or Waimea, or Hale’iwa. Anywhere but Sunset Beach, Declan would have relished dancing on those waves.

All of the surfers chose to brave the waves. They were going to take their chances.

The director handed each one of them a numbered jersey indicating the heat they would compete in. Declan had the bad luck to be in the first heat of the competition. He wouldn’t have as much time to study the waves or the opportunity to study what the other surfers did.

Before the contest started, Pearl would surf in the exhibition with the other women selected. She would have her chance to shine. A flash of pain hit him like a hammer in the chest. He wished he could see her before the events, but he didn’t think he’d get the chance. He wanted to tell her good luck, and that he loved her.

Declan scanned the beach for a glimpse of Pearl. He saw a sea of faces, some familiar, some strangers. Lady, the bull terrier was in attendance, posing for photographs with her fans.

Declan glanced back at the waves and saw a familiar figure bobbing in the lineup. He recognized the shiny red surfboard and the bronzed Hawaiian sitting astride it as Keoni.

Declan’s vision blurred with tears. Declan could feel Keoni’s pain all the way from the shore. Spotting a woman handing out leis, Declan ran up to her and promised her one hundred dollars for the whole lot. Recognizing him as the most famous surfer in Hawaii, the woman readily accepted and handed him the leis. Declan grabbed his board and took off into the water with the mountain of leis around his neck. He wasn’t supposed to be out there before the competition started. He could be disqualified. But he didn’t care. Keoni was waiting for him. Eddie was waiting for him.

As he paddled toward Keoni in the lineup, Declan felt the familiar roll of the waves under him. Sunset Beach had always been Declan’s place to shine. Keoni, who was bigger and stronger, was more at home in the giant waves of Waimea Bay, and Eddie had been built for the tricky backwash of Makaha. Sunset Beach, with its long, perfect tubes was perfect for a show-off like Declan.

The waves at Sunset Beach were wild today, and nothing felt more like a welcome home than the surging pulse of the ocean beneath Declan’s board. He paddled over the crash and tumble of the waves, feeling the raw pit of regret in his stomach grow bigger as he neared his best friend.

Keoni caught sight of Declan and turned to greet him. Keoni’s eyes bugged when he saw the leis, and then a smile dawned on his face. “Howzit?” he asked in typical Keoni laid-back style.

The knot in Declan’s stomach turned sour, and he felt like he would throw up. He scrubbed a hand over his face, trying to push back the threat of tears. “I can’t do this, brah,” he said.

Keoni paddled closer and took one of the leis from around Declan’s neck, placing it on his own. “You have to,” he said, refusing to let Declan off the hook. “For Eddie.”

Declan’s stomach churned as the memories of Eddie’s death came flooding back. He remembered the way Eddie’s jovial brown curls had clung to his pale face in wet hanks and the way his feet had left tracks in the sand as the dragged him to shore. They’d tried their best to save him, but they’d failed.

Declan shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he said.

Keoni looked genuinely confused. “For what?” he asked, casting his gaze around at the growing crowd on the beach. Declan was sorry for years of being treated better than Keoni just because he’d born into an elite family. He was sorry he hadn’t been raised with the aloha spirit like his friend, that he couldn’t forgive as easily, and that he couldn’t forget. He was sorry for being chosen to surf the Duke instead of Keoni. But most of all, he was sorry for Eddie’s death.

“I’m sorry for everything.” Declan met Keoni’s soulful brown eyes and swallowed down the pain. “I’m sorry for saying you should have saved him. I know you couldn’t.”

Keoni shook his head with a sad smile. “It’s awrite,” he said softly.

There was a long silence, and then a helicopter flew overhead, its propeller snapping the wind into a frenzy that rocked the waves. As it dipped toward shore, Declan saw the television network symbol emblazoned on its side. The whole world was watching today.

Spots swam in front of Declan’s eyes, and he felt dizzy. “I can’t do this,” he said.

Keoni clapped Declan on the shoulder. “You don’t have a choice,” he said, his voice loud over the chop of the helicopter noise. “So you better win.” He squeezed Declan’s shoulder, shaking him. “You hear? You better kick some ass.”

Declan nodded. He knew what he had to, but he still doubted he could pull it off.

A moment later, their private conversation was interrupted by a few more of Eddie’s friends, who’d paddled out with the same purpose of honoring their dead friend. They joined hands in a spontaneous memorial, and then placed the leis in the ocean to watch them float away.

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